Landmark Update for Tissue Image Coregistration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Coregistering digital images of needle biopsy tissue samples is challenging due to distortion, requiring precise alignment of pixels across multiple slices, which is computationally intensive and imprecise when using higher-order structures.
Innovation Solution
A system that improves coregistration by using user interaction to manually correct outlines over regions of interest, updating landmarks, and weighting landmarks based on distance to align pixels across images, allowing for precise alignment without segmenting all tissue structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If segmentation and identification of small corresponding tissue structures is performed to separately coregister each pixel, then coregistration precision is improved, but computation time becomes prohibitively long
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the coregistration process into two stages: first performing coarse coregistration using higher-order structures (tissue sample outlines), then performing fine coregistration only in regions of interest using user-verified landmarks. This segmentation avoids the computational burden of processing all pixels at full resolution while maintaining precision where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different levels of coregistration quality to different regions of the image. Full precision coregistration is applied only to user-selected regions of interest, while other areas use the coarser coregistration. This local quality approach reduces overall computation time while maintaining precision where the user needs it most.
2Productivity
If higher-order structures are used for coregistration, then computation time is reduced, but coregistration precision deteriorates due to tissue distortion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary coarse coregistration using higher-order structures (tissue outlines) to establish an initial alignment. This preliminary action reduces computation time by handling the bulk alignment task, while subsequent fine coregistration using landmarks corrects precision issues caused by tissue distortion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces user-verified landmarks as an intermediary between the coarse outline-based coregistration and the final pixel-level alignment. These landmarks serve as intermediate reference points that capture local distortion characteristics without requiring full segmentation, thus improving precision over outline-only methods while avoiding the computational cost of complete segmentation.
3Measurement precision
If all tissue structures are segmented for coregistration, then coregistration precision is improved, but device complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential features needed for coregistration - specifically, user-selected landmarks within regions of interest - rather than segmenting all tissue structures. This extraction approach maintains sufficient precision for the user's needs while dramatically reducing the complexity of the segmentation process and the computational resources required.
Data Source
AI summary
The coregistration of digital images of tissue slices is improved by updating landmarks based on the manual outlining of regions of interest on the images. A first image of a first slice is coarsely coregistered with a second image of a second slice using a first landmark on the first image and a second landmark on the second image. A user manually outlines a first region of interest on the first image. The outline is positioned over a second region of interest on the second image using the second landmark. The user manually moves a contour point of the outline on the second image to form a corrected outline. The second landmark is moved based on how the contour point was manually moved so that the first and second images are more finely coregistered after the second landmark is moved. Each state of corrected contour points and landmarks is saved.